Game review: 'Batman: Arkham Origins' for PS3, Xbox 360 (watch video)

Oct. 25, 2013

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Christmas is usually a time of great cheer. For Gotham’s greatest detective, however, there would be no kissing underneath the mistletoe this year as one crime lord decides to swap eight maids-a-milking for eight assassins-a-killing in “Batman: Arkham Origins.”

Set five years before “Batman: Arkham Asylum,” Origins chronicles the story of a younger, rougher Batman who has yet to gain the polish of his older, wiser self. This inexperience is put to the test as the villain Black Mask decides to send eight deadly assassins against our brooding hero.

The good news is that young Mr. Wayne can more than handle himself in a fight. Making a return is Arkham’s free flow fighting system, complete with multi-hit combos and tide-turning counters.

While button mashing can see you through easier encounters, you’ll ultimately want to use those counters and also time your attacks to get damaging criticals on bosses and larger mobs.

In fact, I found dealing with large enemy groups harder than the game’s bosses — and that includes the final boss fight. This is especially true when facing mobs that sprinkle in gunners, shield men, martial artists, venom users and large heavies in one group.

Speaking of boss fights, facing off against the game’s super assassins is one of the game’s highlights thanks to a diverse offering that makes nearly every boss encounter unique.

These include an epic close combat fight against Deathstroke, a long-range Firefly battle that makes great use of Batman’s gadgets and a few boss fights that rely on using your environment. If you’re more the passive-aggressive type, the game also provides ample opportunity to be as sneaky as John Turturro in the Adam Sandler version of Mr. Deeds.

You can choose to pop from a grate for a nice takedown or string up unsuspecting foes like a piñata from above.

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Using Detective Vision also helps you plan your strategy though it also can be jammed by certain equipment so you’ll want to take those when they pop up. Meanwhile, a new crime scene mode lets you scan evidence and recreate criminal events in order to find clues and solve cases.

An open sandbox continues to be a key feature for Arkham Origins, which serves up a multitude of subquests. Riddler’s younger self is back with a slew of challenges, for example, while certain bosses are only available as optional quests.

Responding to crimes in progress also allow you to gain extra experience for leveling up Batman’s gadgets and skills. These include buffing up your batsuit’s armor to increasing your damage and combo count when landing a critical hit. To polish your own skills as a player, Challenge Modes allow you to essentially go through tutorials that teach you how to use your various moves, deal with mobs or move more efficiently from through the city.

The ability to do challenges with other characters such as fan favorite Deathstroke is a nice plus.

Finish the game itself and you also can play a New Game Plus Mode and unlock harder difficulties.

For fans of online play, a multiplayer mode pits you against other players as either a hero, supervillain or gang member.

Downsides include a camera that can make you lose sight of enemies and throw off your combo timing.

Also, while most villains are fleshed out well, there are a few who seem to be thrown in as afterthoughts.

Lastly, the game’s scope and controls can be intimidating for more casual players or folks who like a more straightforward action game. Despite not having the same sense of freshness as its predecessors, however, Origins is a very well-polished rendition of the Arkham series’ formula.

This means good storytelling, stellar voice acting, tight gameplay and lots of extra content outside the main story. If you liked the previous games, then chances are you’ll like Arkham origins, too.